Military Employment

Military branches employ a significant and growing number of Thurston County residents. The majority of these jobs occur at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. The base is one of the top 5 employers in Washington in recent years (ahead of Microsoft, but behind Boeing), and employs more than 70,000 individuals.

Between 2010 and 2014, an average of about 4,000 resident active-duty military personnel lived in Thurston County, an increase from 1,979 people in 2000.